French percussionist and drummer Xavier Desandre Navarre serves up a sizzling session on this release with Emil Spanyi/p, Stephane Guillame/sax-fl, Stephane Kerecki-Rousselet/b and guests Vincent Peirana/acc and Allonymous/voc. A tune like “Bolinas” has Guillame’s rich and thick tenor crooning over…
Month: November 2014
Phil DeGreg & Brasilia: Brazilian People
Here’s a joyful tribute to one of the most cheerful genres of music around. Pianist Phil DeGreg leads a team of Kim Pensyl/tp-fh, Rusty Burge/vib, Aaron Jacobs/g, John Taylor/dr and Bruno Mangueira/g through a winning mix of samba standards and…
Miguel Zenon 4tet@The Broad Stage/Edye 11.15.14
What is your identity? That simple question is what Miguel Zenon answered for 1 ½ hours with his alto sax and band of Luis Perdomo/p, Hans Glawischnig/b and Eric Doob/dr. Performing music from his latest thought provoking album Identities are…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Mario Castro Quintet/Strings: Estrella De Mar
Here’s an exciting and panoramic collection of fresh and invigorating material by a guy I’ve never even knew existed. Tenor saxist and composer Mario Castro puts together an ambitious project that mixes a jazz team of Josh Shpak/tp, Tamir Shmerling/b,…
Collier & Dean: Sleek Buick
Here’s a fun loving disc from the Pacific Northwest. From Seattle, vibist Tom Collier and bassist Dan Dean bring together a varied and variegated collection of winsome and pulsating sounds that mix and match diverse instruments as dobro, ukulele, mandolin…
Kellylee Evans: I Remember When
First, I just want to say that I know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about hip hop artists lke Stromae, Eminen, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog or John Legend. I’ve seen Eminen on car commercials. That’s it. But, Canadian singer/songwriter Kellylee Evans takes music…
Brooklyn Shanti: Bedstuyle
No, Brooklyn Shanti is NOT a tenement complex. He’s a producer and pioneer of what he calls “Global/Tropical Bass/Dzancehall Fusion” as well as what we would call “hip hop.” The music here is filled with synthesized backgrounds, foregrounds and rhythms…
A NEW MEANING TO ‘CLASSIC ROCK’…Maya Beiser: Uncovered
No, it’s not the 101 Strings Orchestra doing Beatles Muzak. Quite the contrary; cellist Maya Beiser uses her “axe” with a Lazy Susan mixture of rockers and delves into the blues, rock and progressive rock. Except for a spoken wisp…
Annie Ross: To Lady with Love
Vocalist Annie Ross, of the famed Lambert, Hendricks and Ross vocalese bop team, has released a whole new album. Accompanied by the father and son team of Bucky and John Pizzarelli on guitars, Ross exchanges the high pitched chirping of…
Ernie Watts: A Simple Truth
This just might be the Ernie Watts album you’ve been waiting for. Better known as a sideman for the likes of Buddy Rich, Charlie Haden’s Quartet West and Lee Ritenour, as well as holding down the tenor sax chair for…